Conservative Government "outrageous and deliberately misleading pamphlets"

We received the following note sometime ago. On February 4, 2010 the CBC ran an interview on Canadian Jewish sympathies for the Conservative Party. We thought that a poll on knowledge of the Conservative Government's attempt to sway voters would be important. We will also feature a blog on the ties between the Christian right, their views on Israel and Jews and the Harper Government.

Dear Friends,

In response to the outrageous and deliberately misleading pamphlets that have been circulating in ridings where there are significant numbers of Jewish residents, here are the facts:

The Conservatives have sent a false and disgraceful flyer to Canadians that knowingly misrepresents the Liberal position on Israel.

This is a disgraceful piece of Conservative propaganda, regrettably afforded by your taxpayer dollars.

The Conservatives are misrepresenting the facts and misleading Canadians in a shameful effort to divide us for their own partisan gain.

It smears the Office of the Prime Minister to be associated with this pamphlet and we implore Mr. Harper to disavow it immediately, instruct that it be revoked, and apologize to Canadians on behalf of the Conservative Party.

Let there be no mistake:

*As Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff stated in 2006, "Canada is a friend to Israel. We stand shoulder to shoulder when the going gets tough. Between a terrorist militia and a democratic state, Canada must always side with Israel". (October 13, 2006)

* The Liberal Party has a history of support for Israel, working cooperatively and effectively with the Canadian-Jewish community and of speaking and acting against terrorism. It was a Liberal government that designated Hezbollah and Hamas as terrorist organizations in 2002.

* The Canadian delegation unequivocally condemned antisemitism at the 2001 UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban. Canada continued its presence at the express request of the Israeli and other governments. As a member of the Canadian delegation and chair of the International Jewish Caucus I was proud that it was because of the skillful Canadian negotiators that the Israeli government said they could live with the final language, and the Canadian negotiators did not rest until that was the case!

* "It is beyond reckless for political leaders to try to score points by branding one another as anti-Israel to try to win votes by claiming a monopoly on supporting Israel. My party will never claim to be the only genuine defenders of Israel in Canadian politics because I don't want my party to be alone in the defense of Israel. I want all parties to be genuine defenders of Israel"(Michael Ignatieff, Speech to the Canadian Jewish Congress Plenary, May 31, 2009)

Michael Ignatieff, is a strong supporter of Israel and one of our many real friends in the Liberal party. I invite you to visit my website to listen to Michael's address to the CJC 90th plenary this year at http://www.facebook.com/l/3d952;www.karenmock.ca. Canada needs leadership that will unite us on important issues, not divide us with inflammatory rhetoric for political gains.

Karen Mock
Thornhill Federal Liberal Candidate

Karen was the National Director of the League for Human Rights of Bnai Brith Canada and former head of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation. Dr. Mock is a certified teacher and educational psychologist, specializing in human rights, hate crime and diversity issues, widely acknowledged as one of the foremost Canadian authorities on multicultural/anti-racist education. She led the Holocaust and Hope Educators' Study program in Germany, Poland and Israel for 12 years, and is currently president of Canadian Friends of Haifa University.